﻿Declaration and Joint Signature Campaign

Thirty years ago,
intellectuals, university students and workers in China witnessed the accumulation
of political problems including high inflation, bureaucratic speculation
activities, abuse of power and corruption. On the occasion of paying respects
to the deceased Party General Secretary Hu Yaobang, they raised a series of
demands for the nation’s future: education reforms, the sanctioning of
corruption, control of inflation, immediate political reforms by the
government, protection of freedom of the media, and ultimately the realization
of political democracy. The campaign started in mid-April 1989 and continued
for months. Unfortunately, this peaceful Tiananmen Pro-democracy Movement’s
demands were not met, but were crushed by military violence; from late night on
June 3 to early morning on June 4, 1989, armed soldiers were mobilized by Party
leaders to fire on unarmed students and civilians, resulting in about ten
thousand deaths.

Today, thirty
years since the massacre, the official verdict against the martyrs has yet to
be reversed; and no democratic reforms have emerged. The families of the
martyrs are still closely monitored by the Chinese authorities, and they do not
even have the freedom to visit the martyrs’ tombs. Meanwhile, the Chinese
Communist regime continues to strengthen its control of the people, and its
suppression of the demands for democracy and human rights. Corruption and abuse
of power among cadres have become all the more serious. Yet we still expect the
Chinese leadership to change.

Upon the thirtieth
anniversary of the Tiananmen Incident, the Communist Party of China intends to
promote social stability and develop the economy to secure regime maintenance
and support of the people. However, these so-called achievements of economic
and social development have been obtained by the sacrifice of the nation’s
human rights, democracy and freedom. Undeniably, these trends have been
exacerbated in recent years; and the Party regime exploits the strengths of
speedy economic development and the powers of science and technology to tighten
domestic control and expand its international influence.

The regime has no
intention to engage in domestic political and social reforms to improve the
people’s rights and welfare; instead expenditure on stability maintenance has
been increasing and advanced technology has been exploited to enhance control
of the people, further suppress the pro-democracy movement, and violate human
rights and religious freedom. Social resources have thus been wasted in this
manner.

In Hong Kong, the
Chinese authorities have stepped up the crackdown on the local pro-democracy
movement, arresting dissidents with less and less restraint, disqualifying
candidates in elections, and ignoring the institutional arrangements of the separation
of power and checks and balances, Further, they openly refute the effective
implementation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. Regarding Taiwan,
security threats and economic invasion have been strengthening, propaganda
activities and military pressures have been escalating, and Taiwan’s diplomatic
space has been shrinking. The international community has been witnessing
China’s impressive increases in military expenditure, the modernization of its
armed forces, and its failure to fulfill its pledges and observe its
international agreements. In violation of its promises in joining the World
Trade Organization, China has been stealing the commercial intellectual
property rights of foreign innovations and engaging in fraudulent activities.

All of the above
reveals that the Party government has been treating the people demanding
political reforms in the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong as principal enemies;
and well demonstrates its evil nature as a rogue regime. This demonstration has
now triggered the resistance of the mainstream international community which
begins to impose sanctions, as well as prompted the rise of waves of
human-rights campaigns inside China. This resistance shows that the so-called
economic achievements in the three decades since the Tiananmen Incident are a
facade, and the so-called social stability is now under severe threat.

In response, the
New School for Democracy and the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic
Democratic Movements of China, together with all our friends concerned about
China’s democratic development, hold this conference in Taipei with various
supporting groups. We hope, jointly with our friends everywhere, to offer our
ideas on the mission of promoting democracy in China; and through the mourning
of the Tiananmen martyrs, to commemorate the spirit of the student movement in
1989, and awaken the concern and commitment to China’s pro-democracy movement
among Chinese all over the world.

We hold the
position that, in view of the deteriorating domestic and external environment,
the Chinese government should immediately change its course. It should abandon
the private interests of one single political party, stop the suppression and
exploitation of the people, and the crackdown of the pro-democracy movements in
Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. At the same time, the Party regime should
learn from the experiences of democracy in Taiwan and those of the rule of law
in Hong Kong, so that China would converge with global civilization, and
through reforms emerge as a modern state respected by the international
community.

We firmly believe
that democracy and liberal reforms in China will not only benefit the Chinese
people, but also the entire world. As a major state with 1.4 billion people,
“soft power" is the essential element maintaining world peace and
promoting the development of the civilization of the entire human race.

Thus, the New
School for Democracy and the Joint Alliance, on the thirtieth anniversary of
the Tiananmen Incident, declare the following demands to the Communist Party of
China:

immediately reverse the verdict on the
Tiananmen Incident’s martyrs and participants and offer them apologies and
compensation;

immediately abandon the dictatorship of
the Communist Party and promote democratic elections;

immediately release all political
prisoners and prisoners of conscience;

immediately cease pressures and
suppression against Taiwan, as well as activities violating the “one
country, two systems" model and interferences in Hong Kong’s internal
affairs; and

immediately terminate the suppression of
the pro-democracy movement and religious groups in Mainland China, and
implement practical protection of people’s freedoms of speech, assembly,
religious beliefs and so on as stipulated in the Constitution.

We reiterate, and
we hope that the Chinese authorities would understand, that freedom and
democracy are the universal values in the development of global civilization.
We also pray that Chinese people, through their humility, may secure the
acceptance and respect of the international community.